Sliding car door



p i 13, 1943- H. H. HENRICKS 2,316,332

SLIDING CAR DOOR Filed Oct, 11, 1940 #02010 H. ave/m5 W W/6am,

Patented Apr. 13, i943 SLIDING CAR DOOR Harold H. Henricks, Youngstown, Ohio, assignor to The Youngstown Steel Door Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio This invention relates to sliding car doors and more particularly to the sealing of the rear margins of such doors.

It is an object of this invention to provide sliding doors for railway house cars which shall effectively exclude rain, snow, dust, cinders and the like from entering the car around the rear edges of such doors.

A further object is to provide combined spark and sealing strips for sliding car doors embodying flexible sealing means adapted to be flexed by the doors in closing movement to exclude rain, snow, dust, cinders and the like from the cars.

Other objects of the invention will become clear as the description thereof proceeds.

In the drawing forming part of this specification:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary elevation of a railway house car having sliding doors embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken on line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 showing another form of the invention.

Referring to the embodiment of the invention illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, there is disclosed a car wall Hi of a railway house car having the customary door opening which is adapted to be controlled by a sliding door ll slidably mounted upon a track [2 on the car. The door illustrated embodies a metallic panel l3 formed with horizontal corrugations M which merge at their ends into vertical corrugations one of which is illustrated at 5. The lower portion of the door is reinforced by means of a horizontal backing plate 16 extending across the lower horizontal corrugations and by an angle member H the horizontal leg 58 of which is utilized to establish frictional engagement between the door and the supporting track l2 when the door, which is of the lift type, is lowered.

The rear vertical margin of the door is reinforced by a vertical backing plate iii extending across the vertical corrugation 15. A metallic sealing strip 26! is fastened to the backing plate and to the portion of the panel beyond the ver tical corrugation by means of rivets 2| which serve additionally to fasten a reinforcing angle 22 to the metallic panel of the door.

Lift mechanism indicated generally by the reference numeral 23 is secured to the door and serves to elevate the door and support it upon anti-friction means when it is desired to move the door between open and closed positions.

The car wall If! embodies a metallic door post 24 to which the metallic sheathing 25 is fastened by means of rivets 26. A nailing block 21 is secured to the door post 24 and provides a base to which the inner lining 2% is secured.

The illustrative car wall construction above described includes an angle member 29 fastened to the door post 24 by the rivets 26. The leg 30 of the angle member 29 extends outwardly from the wall and provides a base to which a combined spark and sealing strip is fastened by means of rivets 3|.

-In the preferred embodiment of the'invention the combined spark and sealing strip 32 is in the form of an angle member. The leg 33 of this member is fastened to the leg 3%] of the angle member 29 by the rivets 3|. The leg 34 of the spark and sealing strip extends rearwardly and is provided with a projection or flange 35 which is directed inwardly toward the car wall [0.

Secured to the rearwardly extending leg 34 of the spark strip 32 is a flexible sealing strip 36 formed preferably of rubber or rubber and fabric. The sealing strip is fastened to the leg 34 preferably by means of rivets 31 passing through the leg 34 of the sealing strip and a washer plate 33 lying upon the sealing strip. The sealing strip extends inwardly toward the car wall in the form of a flange 39 which projects beyond the flange 35 of the spark strip 32.

The structure hereinabove described effectively seals the rear of the door so as to prevent the entry of rain, snow, dust, cinders and the like into the car when the door is in closed position. In the final closing movement of the door the metallic sealing strip 20 which is fastened to the door engages the projection or flange 35 and cooperates therewith to draw the door inwardly toward the car wall and to prevent the entry of sparks into the car. During this final closing movement the metallic sealing strip 213 also engages the flange 39 of the flexible sealing strip 36 which projects inwardly beyond the flange 35 and cooperates with the flexible sealing strip flange to provide a tight seal which will exclude rain, snow, dust, cinders and the like from the car. In this cooperation it will be observed that the flexible sealing strip flange 39 is not compressed but is subjected to a flexing action only.

In the form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 3 of the drawing an effective seal is obtained by the use of a flexible metallic sealing strip preferably formed of phosphor-bronze. This flexible sealing strip 40 is secured to the rearwardly extending leg 34 of the spark strip 32 in the same manner as hereinabove described for the securement of the non-metallic flexible sealing strip 36 to the spark strip. As in the previously described embodiment of the invention the sealing strip 40 has an inwardly extending flange 41 which is engaged and flexed by the metallic sealing strip 29 fastened to the door in the final closing movement of the door. The inwardly directed projection or flange 35 cooperates in the considered embodiment of the invention with the door sealing strip 20 to exclude sparks and to draw the door inwardly toward the car side.

It will be apparent that numerous changes and modifications in the details of the invention will be clear to those skilled in the art. It is intended, therefore, that all such modifications and changes be comprehended within this invention, which 18 to be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

I claim:

1. In a railway house car having a wall embodying a door opening and an outwardly directed vertical membe adjacent to said door opening, a flange extending rearwardly from said member in spaced relationship to said wall, a leg on said flange directed toward said wall, a flexible Weatherstrip, said Weatherstrip having a marginal edge secured to said flange and a marginal edge extending beyond said leg toward said wall, and a longitudinally sliding door mounted on said car, said door having a vertical sealing strip engaging said leg and said latter marginal edge of said Weatherstrip in the final longitudinal closing movement of said door, said sealing strip freely bending the engaged marginal edge of said Weatherstrip, for the purpose set forth.

2. In a railway house car having a wall embodying a door opening and an angular member adjacent to said door opening, said angular member having an outwardly extending leg, a flange extending rearwardly therefrom in spaced relationship to said wall and a leg projecting from said flange toward said wall, a flexible weatherstrip, said Weatherstrip having a marginal edge secured to said member and a marginal edge extending beyond said second mentioned leg toward said wall, and a longitudinally sliding door mounted on said car, said door having a vertical sealing strip engaging said second mentioned leg and said latter marginal edge of said weatherstrip in the final longitudinal closing movement of said door, said sealing strip freely bending the engaged marginal edge of said Weatherstrip for the purpose set forth.

HAROLD H. HENRICKS. 

